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Car of the Day : March 28, 2013; Tomica '09 Hong Qi CA7600L HQE Inspection Limousine
Topic Started: Mar 27 2013, 10:01 PM (1,717 Views)
craftymore
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Support your local demo derby.

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Today's car of the day is from mentalpower's collection, and is Tomica's 2009 Hong Qi CA7600L HQE Inspection Limousine.


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Wikipedia
 
Hongqi is a Chinese luxury car marque owned by the automaker FAW Car Company, itself a subsidiary of FAW Group. Hongqi cars were the first domestically produced Chinese passenger vehicles. In Chinese, hongqi means "red flag", a communist symbol.



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For more information and pictures of the real car please visit: Hongqi
and Hongqi CA7600L


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Wikipedia
 
The CA7600L as seen in 2009 is self-developed, but it is thought that the production version HQE will receive a chassis derived from that of the Toyota Landcruiser Prado. At the 2005 Shanghai International Auto Exhibition a Hongqi HQD concept car was displayed. In 2009 First Automobile Works planned to release the Hongqi HQE its design based on that of the 2005 concept. This model has since been shown at the Beijing Auto Show as the CA7600L. It is equipped with a 402 hp 6.0 L V12 engine developed in-house.



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carnewschina.com
 
The monster Hongqi CA7600L has a 5.985 litre 300kw V12, torque is 580nm@3500nm. Size: 6395mmX2008mmX1720, wheelbase is 3800mm. It won’t go in full production but will be available on special order for around five million rmb, that is 500.000 euros. Not cheap but the machine is bullet proof and comes with two flag poles as standard.



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Bonus pictures, from juantoo3's collection:
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Emptywallet
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Minivan
That looks likes a Rolls Royce.......doesn't it????
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pjedsel
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Muscle Car
It is always nice when a car no one else has made in diecast shows up - especially from a mfg like Tomica. I like this series of Chinese models that they are producing. And yes, there is some resemblance to a Rolls Royce.
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Stampede
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Team Canada
Nice! I remember that a pic of this was nominated from POTM, from steven747 I believe?

Edited by Stampede, Mar 27 2013, 11:58 PM.
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mentalpower
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Compact
A quick comment: although there have been many Hongqi models since the '60s, Tomica's version is the one from 2009.
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rcarwd1
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Midsize
To me the car looks like a mutt. From the windshield back looks like a cross between a Rolls Royce, and the Obama Cadillac Limo. The nose looks like a cross between a early 70s Chevy Vega and a 63 Dodge Polara. The Tomica wheels look like the 70s-80s Chevy Pickup hubcaps.
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Dean-o-mite
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Muscle Car
mentalpower
Mar 28 2013, 07:19 AM
A quick comment: although there have been many Hongqi models since the '60s, Tomica's version is the one from 2009.
There's a lot for us car guys to learn when it comes to Chinese cars...
I was rushed on my research of the real thing, and when I used google and wikipedia to research the name Hongqi CA770, I got the 1966-1980 version. Everything I have seen thus far online for the 2009 version, shows it to be a CA7600L. Does that sound accurate to anyone with knowledge of this car? I have amended the COTD to reflect the proper 2009 CA7600L version.
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juantoo3
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stampede
Mar 27 2013, 11:56 PM
Nice! I remember that a pic of this was nominated from POTM, from steven747 I believe?

That was my inspiration for finding one. It isn't often I am smitten, but I like limosuines. Being a Chinese model did help the cause as I don't know of many homegrown Chinese makes of automobiles. The styling is a pleasant surprise, although I think the front grill reminds me more of an early 60s Rambler. I hadn't made the association with RR before, but now that you guys mention it there is more than a passing resemblence.
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ivantt
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New casting? Quick! Take it apart!
Lovin' it. We continue to see castings that are unknown, or little known. I like limos, too, and this one gets an automatic thumbs up. The fact that it is a Tomica makes it even better.
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mentalpower
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Dean-O-mite
Mar 28 2013, 02:15 PM
mentalpower
Mar 28 2013, 07:19 AM
A quick comment: although there have been many Hongqi models since the '60s, Tomica's version is the one from 2009.
There's a lot for us car guys to learn when it comes to Chinese cars...
I was rushed on my research of the real thing, and when I used google and wikipedia to research the name Hongqi CA770, I got the 1966-1980 version. Everything I have seen thus far online for the 2009 version, shows it to be a CA7600L. Does that sound accurate to anyone with knowledge of this car? I have amended the COTD to reflect the proper 2009 CA7600L version.
Dean, it is my fault actually.

When I checked for the model of the Tomica car I saw that the CA7600L was presented in 2010, and press articles written in 2009 refered to it as CA770. That's why I guessed that the original, hand made version for the China National Day 60th Anniversary in 2009 was a CA770, not a CA7600L.

I've checked again and finally found out that the official name for that car is 2009 Hong Qi CA7600J HQE Inspection Limousine. There is a company of model cars (Century Dragon) that has made an accurate model of the 2009 Hong Qi in 1:18 and 1:24, and the models come with an official certificate signed by FAW...

http://detail.china.alibaba.com/offer/1166748521.html

By the way we should not use FAW Hong Qi, but Hong Qi, as now it is used by FAW as a luxury car brand by its own. To refer to it as FAW Hong Qi would be similar to refer to Infiniti (Nissan's luxury brand) as Nissan Infiniti.
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speedyexpress48
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Magical girl of depression and despair
For those of you curious...ok let's see...a tiny history of HongQi and the Chinese luxury car market.

FAW, or First Automotive Works, was named that because it was literally the first automotive factory in China as a result of the Five-Year Plan, the plan for rapid Chinese industrialization after Mao Zedong took over in 1949. FAW only built commercial trucks at first (keep in mind, the Soviet Union was much better off than China was at this time in history, everyone except the party elite were struggling to survive.) The first Hong Qi (red flag, symbol of communism, etc) cars were the first Chinese cars ever built; these vehicles were for the top brass elite in the Communist Party, with very low production numbers no higher than 2,000 for any given model. Most of the HongQis built in this era were the CA770s, a design based on the Mercedes-Benz 600 limo along with American Lincoln influences; unlike most cars built under communism (the top Soviet luxury cars were pretty crappy designs), the CA770 was a pretty nice car, powered by a V8 making 207hp with a somewhat respectable design. Less than 1,600 were built from 1963 to 1980 (currently it is one of the most desirable Communist cars; one in good condition could easily go for a hundred thousand grand in American currency today).
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After Mao died, China started to open up its borders (somewhat) to foreign designs; a early prototype for a civilian HongQi involved rebadging the Dodge 600 (Chrysler was looking to sell the 600 tooling after the 600's production run ended in 1987.)
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FAW liked the results of the prototype, however the deal with Chrysler was never struck. In 1988, FAW was given the license to build the Audi 100, which then led to the FAW-Volkswagen joint venture in 1991 (keep in mind, Volkswagen already operated a joint venture in China with Shanghai Automotive Group since 1984; both FAW-VW and Shanghai-VW are major players in the Chinese market today.) Volkswagen didn't want competition around and FAW had to choose between a deal with VW and a deal with Chrysler; Volkswagen offered far more investment than Chrysler did, and FAW ended their relationship with Chrysler. However, FAW still had the rights to the Chrysler 2.2 engine, so they decided to combine an Audi platform with a Chrysler motor, and the next generation of HongQis were born. Later examples of this model used Nissan motors. FAW also license-built some Lincoln Town Cars badged under the HongQi name, but those were a horrible failure sales-wise and very rare today.
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However, the FAW-VW deal would be a part of HongQi's downfall; in the late 1990s, interest in foreign goods started to rise, and the FAW-built Audi A6, with its foreign prestige and quality, became much more popular than the HongQi, which was based on an older Audi and had a weak motor. Not only that, but FAW's stronghold on the luxury car market ended when the Shanghai GM joint opened in 1998; ironically, in the 1990's GM wanted to build low cost cars like Chevrolets in China, however Communist Party officials, who had a fondness for the old Buicks from the pre-communist era (several were used by high ranked advisers of Chairman Mao after the Communist takeover), decided that the new Shanghai-GM venture would build Buicks; and so, Shanghai GM became a major luxury car maker in China after the first Buick Regal rolled off the line in 1998 and became a massive hit. Other buyers were willing to pay for high quality imports; the Toyota Camry and Nissan Cefiro were expensive (north of $50,000 US dollars; keep in mind, the Camry and Maxima (Cefiro) we get here are very low quality compared to the Asian models which are used as executive cars), but at this point in time, if you were looking for a luxury car, you would be willing to pay anyways.
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Soon, the Audi A6 replaced the HongQi as the de facto car for government officials. In the mid 2000s, HongQi revamped their model line; the new model, the HQ3, was aimed at high-level CEOs; essentially a rebadged Toyota Crown Majesta with more expensive trim, it sold horribly (the car that mostly outsold it? The FAW Toyota Crown Majesta.) Chinese gearheads (at least, from what I heard) were saddened that the HongQi brand, once a source of national pride, was withering away.
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Fast forward to 2009, a new "self-developed" HongQi, the CA7600L (which is actually based on the Toyota Land Cruiser platform) was added to the model lineup; once again, HongQi returned to its niche of providing cars for high-ranked government officials (though they are planning for a return to the executive market once again in 2014.) And that leads us to our little Tomica CA7600L above.
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Edited by speedyexpress48, Mar 29 2013, 11:53 PM.
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ivantt
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New casting? Quick! Take it apart!
What a story! Thank you, Speedyexpres48!
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JustDavid
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SUV
It's definitely different…very cool too.
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Stampede
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Team Canada
Thanks, speedyexpress48! Great to see the info about the real car!
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juantoo3
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks Speedy!
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